Mina is pretty much the same age. Her schedule is to get up in the morning,potty,play,eat,play,potty,nap,,,repeat. She only barks when she wants one of the other dogs chew bones,which is amazing to me because we also have a pom (barks at the wind) and a chi (barks at the wind and when the other dog barks).
He is a baby,I think that people forget that they are just babys,very much like little kids. They spend the first two years learning the basics and then the rest of their lives learning cooler stuff. When you meet a dog that is very obedient and looks to its owner for instruction,it is because the owner has worked with that dog everyday,just like working with kids. Its because the dog feels as though it belongs to a pack just like a kid belongs to a family. You are creating a relationship that will last a long time,dogs can be the very best of friends.
I try to always speak softly but sternly to my dogs. The best time I have found for training is after I have played with them to run off some of the energy. Mina has a crate but only sees it if I am leaving the house and noone else will be there. It is large enough for her bed,water bowl and peepee paper. Other than that she is in hand or leashed to my belt loop,going everywhere I go. She gets exercise,not lonely and I am not going to forget to take her out if there is a chance of her leaving a puddle next to my foot. As for barking,I try to train (key word try) our dogs to "no bark" If they bark, I use the hand command (American Sign Language sign for "NO") and say "no bark". I think for some breeds it takes longer to learn when to and not to bark. The chi is hardwired to bark,he is 6hrs old and has learned to at least bark only when visitors arrive. He will stop quickly unless the visitor has a hat on,then all bets are off. |